Tattoo
by Acain Keyrose
Summary: Choza and Neya have an unexpected conversation.


AN: This is my second _Itsuwaribito_ story, this time featuring Choza and Neya! While they're not really a couple in this, I'm still okay with them as one and- if you look hard enough- you could probably see at least the first unsteady foothold of a romance. Them as a couple would be kind of sweet, I think. And, while this one-shot is essentially pointless, I just thought it would be a nice little friendship-building moment.

Note- This takes place after Choza, Uzume, and Minamo join their group but before they reach the tanuki village.

Anyway, feel free to drop a review!

 **Tattoo**

Inspired By Yuuki Iinuma's _Itsuwaribito_

The sun had gone down roughly an hour ago and the only source of light in the dark forest was the campfire that was glowing brightly in a small clearing. The motley group that huddled around it was still awake and talking merrily amongst themselves about a variety of things, ranging from information about the town they were nearing to the reason why stars sparkled in the night sky.

The pink-haired teen, Neya, watched them from her spot leaning against a tree at the outskirts of the clearing. She saw Utsuho and Nibyo making a fuss over the little tanuki, Pochi, and Iwashi making a fuss over Utsuho- much to her frustration. Uzume was also cheerfully jumping around them with Minamo clinging tightly to his back while Yakuma admonished them and told them to be careful. The only one that wasn't in the clearing was Choza, who had left on his own some time ago.

"Neya?" Yakuma's voice broke the girl from her thoughts so she could see him drawing to a stop in front of her, his normally puffy hat flattened and dripping water, "Could you refill the water jugs, please? _Someone_ ," he shot a glare in Utsuho's direction, "dumped all the water in them out."

She nodded, feeling pity for his newfound soggy condition, and plucked the now-empty water jugs from their resting place on the ground near the fire, "Sure."

Yakuma flashed her a brief grateful smile before returning to his previous activity of scolding the others, rather more fiercely than before as he began to wring out his hat. Neya, left to do his bidding, slipped out of the clearing and into the forest, going towards the river she knew was nearby. It was a several minute walk, and when she finally got there she was surprised to find none other than their missing- and rather intimidating- group member, Choza, sitting in the grass and staring blankly at the river as it sparkled prettily in the moonlight.

For a moment he didn't seem to notice her, but then he tilted his head in her direction, making her suddenly feel flustered, "Oh! S… sorry. I didn't know you were here. I just need to refill the water jugs because Utsuho dumped them on Yakuma's head. Do you… uh… want me to go farther down the river?"

"You can stay if you want." He shrugged and turned his attention back to the water.

Hesitantly, Neya sat beside the river's edge and uncorked one of the water jugs before gently dipping it under the stream's surface and waiting for it to fill. It was quiet between them, the only exception being the occasional sound of the next couple jugs lightly gurgling with the sudden surge of water filling them.

Feeling slightly unnerved by the silence Neya stuttered, "S… so… why are you out here? Don't you want to be with everyone else?"

He wrinkled his nose and muttered, "Too loud. I came out here to think."

"What about?"

Neya was genuinely curious, her head tipping questioningly to the side as she stared at him with wide eyes. He frowned and didn't answer. The girl sagged in slight disappointment at his opt for muteness. Wordlessly, Neya just pulled out the now-filled water jug, corked it, and reached for another.

Several more moments passed before Neya tried again, but with a different topic, "We don't talk much."

Choza blinked, having clearly had not expected her to say that. What she said was true, but what was the point of bringing up the fact that they didn't talk with each other often when they were in the middle of not really talking with each other?

A frown marred his mostly hidden features, "What's your point?"

"There isn't one," she mumbled, glancing down at the last of the water jugs as she began to fill it.

His mouth parted to point out how meaningless her words became if that was the case when an abrupt gust of wind swept by them, yanking Neya's long ponytail with it and ripping his own bangs from his face to reveal what was underneath. She chose that moment to look towards him once more, eyes widening marginally upon seeing his tattoo even as he froze in dread as he realized that she had, without a doubt, seen what he wanted no one to see.

His heart stopped, his brain clicking off with it. Only after his hair finally settled over his features once more did normal brain function begin to slowly return, though he doubted his heart would start to work again anytime soon. _She saw my face. She saw my_ _ **tattoo**_ _. What am I supposed to do? What will_ _ **she**_ _do? When the doctor saw it he took it in relative stride, but women… they generally react to these kinds of markings far worse. Not typically with physical violence, but if she were to just flinch away in distaste… she'll never look at me the same way again. She's been quiet too long!_ His thoughts began to jumble as a fresh surge of panic coursed through him.

"That's why you always keep your face hidden," Neya whispered at last, not with a tone of disgust as many before her had and as he himself had been expecting, but rather with one of realization. "It's all right, Choza," The pink-haired girl soothed after a moment of his continued immobility, "I've seen far worse before on people who actually _deserved_ it. I lived on an Itsuwaribito island for many years, after all."

Despite his reflexive terror at her seeing his tattoo Choza couldn't help but seize the clearly offered distraction, asking in muted surprise, "You… did?"

"Yup," she nodded, "I did. That's where I met Utsuho and Yakuma." A faint smile reached her lips at the memory, "I tried to steal from them."

Choza couldn't help but snort at the notion, "Let me guess; you failed."

"Not exactly…" Neya glanced away, a faint blush tinging her cheeks, "I actually… well…" She looked back towards his eyes, which were safely hidden by his hair once more, "Don't tell anyone I told you this, but I succeeded in tricking Utsuho."

His eyes widened, "You're lying."

"I wish." She sighed, finally removing the full water jug from the water and corking it before placing it on the ground. She then sat on the grass and pulled her legs up to hug them to her chest, resting her chin on her knees, "I tricked him and- honestly- I don't think Utsuho's ever forgiven me since." The teen stared across the river forlornly, "As it is he wouldn't admit to being tricked by me if you asked him."

"Admitting any form of defeat, past or present, has never been a strong suit of his," The green-haired male responded wryly. After several more moments passed Choza glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, "Is that… it?" Her brow wrinkled in confusion so he reluctantly elaborated, "You're not going to… ask about anything else? About my…"

He trailed off, unwilling to finish his sentence, though her eyes sparked with realization at what he meant, "No, I'm not. If you've tried so hard to keep it hidden from us, then why should I assume that you'd want to talk about it now?" Neya nodded once in determination, "As far as I'm concerned, I never saw it and never will until you decide otherwise."

She was the only one to ever say such a thing to him, one of the few to be so accepting of the mark on his face. He hadn't expected that response from her or anyone in his group (Yakuma, being a doctor who didn't care who his patient was, being a rare exception), though he supposed by now he should expect nonconventional responses from the collection of oddballs he had ended up in. Grateful and touched by her words and utterly unsure of how to portray it, Choza merely settled for leaning closer and gently patting her head. Her face flushed at the gesture and he glanced away, hurriedly retracting his hand from her. The pink-haired girl opened her mouth as if to say something only to be thwarted by the sudden jubilant whoop that sounded behind them. Before either was given a chance to react Uzume landed heavily on Choza's back, eliciting a grunt from the male as his breath was knocked from him.

The newcomer, completely unaware that he had just interrupted their unforeseen bonding moment, beamed and exclaimed, "Hey! What're you two talking a trout?"

Choza, regaining his voice and his composure, groaned at his companion, "Talking _about_ , Uzume. _About_." He then huffed, "And that's none of your business."

He stuck out his lip in a pout, "Aw, come _on_!"

"No."

"Not even a hint?"

"No."

" _Please_?" He whined.

" _No_."

" _Fine_. I'll just ask Neya." Still clinging to Choza's back like a monkey he turned his head towards the spot the teen had been in, "Neya-" He stopped, the girl no longer being there as she had already gathered the water jugs and fled back to their camp. "Hey, why'd she leave?"

Minamo, from her own semi-permanent spot on Uzume's back, responded with a sage nod, "Girls are odd creatures."

"That's for sure." Choza snorted.

Even so, he couldn't help the small smile that curved his lips.


End file.
